Improvement in nasal douches



M. F. POTTER.

Nasal-Bunches.

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THE GRAPHIC c0- PHQTO'LITHBBB 4'! PARK PLACEJLY.

Patented July 21,1874.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

MERRITT F. POTTER, OF KANEVILLE, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN NASAL DOUCHES.

Specification forming part ofLei'ters Patent No. 153,276, dated July 21,1874; application filed August 25, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MERRITT F. POTTER, ot' Kaneville, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvements in Instruments for Treating Diseases of the Nasal Cavities, of which the following is aspecification:

The first part of my invention relates to the construction of the nasal plug in the instrument known as the nasal douche, and the other relates to the method of attaching it to an ordinary bottle.

C is a small elastic bulb, adapted to fit the nostril, and attached to the tube D, which terminates in a bottle, as seen in the drawing. In the neck of the bottle is a spring, A, made of india-rubber or any other convenient material. In the spring A is a slot, through which the tube D passes, and by which the tube is held in the bottle, and will not allow it to slip out when the bottle is standing on a shelf. B is a loop, by which the bottle is suspended to a hook. The loop must be so made that, when stretched by the weight of the suspended bottle, it will terminate in a sharp point at the bottom, as seen in the drawing, so that when tension is made upon the tube, and it is drawn downward, the loop will clutch it and hold it in place. The tube D before entering the bot-- tie is inserted through the loop, as seen in the cut. IVhen the bottle is suspended with the tube attached, as represented, the weight of the bottlecauses the loop B to grasp the tube, and to prevent it from slipping out of the neck of the bottle. It also compresses the tube laterally at the place where it is bent, and thus prevents it from collapsing.

The mode of using'it is as follows: Having filled the bottle with the solution required, and suspended it to a hook with the tube attached, a little above the head, I take the bulb in the right hand and compress it between the thumb and second and third finger. I then place the forefinger over the orifice in. the top of the bulb, and hold it there while I relax the pressure upon the bulb and allow it to expand. The expansion of the bulb draws the liquid from the bottle into the tube. If the bulb be then inserted in the nostril as a plug, the liquid will enter the nose, flow around the septum of the nares, and be discharged from the other nostril. If the nasal passages should be so obstructed by sordes that the hydrostatic pressure of the liquid is not sufficient to open the passage, the liquid can be driven with much greater force by suddenly compressing the bulb with the right hand, and pinching the tube with the left so as to prevent any regurgitation of the liquid into the bottle. Any common bottle will answer the purpose.

After using the instrument, it can be compactly coiled up and carried in the pocket, and

be attached to any bottle in an instant, withv out the necessity of carrying anything but the tube and bulb.

I also use the instrument above described for irrigating and cleansing the eye and ear, and cleansing wounds.

I claim In a nasal douche, the elastic-rubber bulb joined to the rubber tube at one end and perforated at the other, so as to serve not only as a nasal plug, but as an exhaust-bulb for drawing the liquid from a suspended vessel, substantially as set forth.

MERRITT r. ror'rnn.

lVitnesses FRANK S. POTTER, NELLIE H. WrNsLow. 

